Magnums on Magnetic

I really enjoyed my stay here. The pool area was beautiful, the bar was nice. I liked my room, it wasn't the Hilton but it had great shower pressure and reading the graffiti on the bunks was enjoyable. I just laid by the pool all day and Magnetic Island is amazing!

ARKIES IS NOW CALLED MAGNUMS-dont be fooled by the change of name - it should be called Butlins (if you are English you should know what this is, if not then just ask someone who is!) The room was dingey, too cramped and my bed was wet (with what i dont know) the food was over priced. Nice large pool - shame it was full of loud children. If you are a young Aussie family looking for a budget holiday this is the place for you, but if you are a backpacker dont bother staying here, go to Base down the road which was perfect!!!

Our dorm was clean, but very dark and dingy. The reception staff pretended to be helpful, but it felt like they would slag you off as soon as you left the desk. "Bloody customers... stop hassling me!" They only give you one sheet (er, what am I supposed to put on top of me?) and you have to pay extra for pillows! Plus, the kitchen was unbelievably rubbish — two hobs between, potentially, 100 people. Cheap beer, though!

Arkie's is pretty good. We stayed at Arkie's two times in a twin room with en suite. The room had a double and single bed, fridge, water cooker, air-conditioning, vents and a TV. Arkie's has two good places to eat. One more expensive and open from morning till 5 or 6 p.m. This one has sandwiches, all-day breakfast and cakes and sorts. The other has good food for reasonable prices; you also get a voucher for each night you stay to get cheaper meals. It is also close to Alma Bay, a great bay where you can snorkel and which the stinger apparently avoid. So you can swim all year round. Staff are what can be expected, friendly enough and helpful. And always girls. Also a pub on site, PADI dive shop and clothing shop. Arkie's is just a very nice relaxed stay. The only thing it misses is a party attitude, but there are other places for that.

The place looked promising from the reception area but the room was small, packed full of ten people, dirty and smelled like wet dog. Plus a few people got eaten alive by bedbugs.

The double rooms are really big! Not so clean, especially in the bathroom, but they had two beds, TV, and a fridge. The staff are friendly — except for a couple — and the bar is big, with pool tables. There is an Internet room, swimming pool, and tiny kitchen. A lot of people get the microwave meals — there are two microwaves in the kitchen, but there's usually a lot of people trying to make dinner at the same time, so it's hot and stuffy while you're waiting for your turn. Cheap diving courses, although Magnetic Island is definitely NOT one of the nicer places to do it. I won't be returning here.

The rooms are average but clean. The food, I thought, was fabulous. The entertainment is great for families. I loved just everything about Arkies. I will certainly be back again.

The rooms are pretty average. If you're feeling flush, you'll find the meals sold here are amazing for the price. The bar is cool.

Crap rooms, mine smelt like it'd just been fumigated and my friend got bitten really badly by bed bugs. It has a decent bar though.

The staff try pretty hard, although I found the entertainment to be pretty cheesy and better geared to families. My main problem with this place, though, was the shoddy excuse for a kitchen (really just a storage room with a kettle, fridge and sink). No cooking facilities meant buying meals every day, and travellers leaving food brought with them to rot in the fridge, which stank. On the plus side, the diving course is cheap and excellent.

Brilliant fun! If your good at general quiz then you will win loads of free beer. There is normally some great eye candy there! Our two night stay went on for over a week.